American writer
Shirley Gordon (1921 – 2008) was an American writer of radio programs, television shows, and children's books.
Early life
Gordon was born on December 29, 1921, in
Geneva, Illinois , to Russell Gordon, a police officer, and Viola LaVoy Gordon. She graduated from
East Aurora High School in
Aurora, Illinois in 1938.
[1]
Writing career
Early in her career, Gordon wrote for and was assistant editor of Radio Life magazine.
[2] She was also a publicist for
CBS .
[3]
Radio and television shows
During the
Golden Age of Radio , Gordon wrote scripts for
anthology series
Suspense ("The Statement of Mary Blake" in 1950
[4] and "Death Parade" in 1951
[5] ),
The Whistler , and
Elliott and
Cathy Lewis '
On Stage .
[6] When dramatic radio was revived in the 1970s, Gordon wrote scripts for The Hollywood Radio Theatre and
Sears Radio Theatre .
[7]
From the 1950s-1970s, Gordon, sometimes credited as "Shirl Gordon", wrote episodes of popular sitcoms, including
Bewitched ,
The Courtship of Eddie's Father , and
My Three Sons . She wrote 49 episodes of
The Bob Cummings Show .
[8]
[9]
Children's books
Gordon published eight books for children in the 1970s and 1980s. Six are picture books and two are chapter books.
Four of the books were narrated by a girl named Susan about her friend Crystal. All of the Crystal books were illustrated by Edward Frascino.
Crystal Is the New Girl (Harper & Row, 1976)
[22]
[23]
Crystal Is My Friend (Harper & Row, 1978)
[24]
[25]
[26]
Happy Birthday, Crystal (Harper & Row, 1981)
[27]
[28]
[29]
Crystal's Christmas Carol (Harper & Row, 1989)
[30]
[31]
Personal life
Gordon had one son, David Russell Gordon, whom she adopted. Two of her books, The Boy Who Wanted a Family and Me and the Bad Guys , were based on her son's experiences.
Gordon and several of her friends, including actress
Barbra Fuller , met every Saturday for years to take walks around Hollywood; in a 1994 episode of Visiting... with
Huell Howser , the "Hollywood walking ladies" reminisce about their experiences in Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.
[32]
Gordon died on February 22, 2008, in
Glendale, California .
[33]
References
^ The Speculum . East Aurora, Illinois: Aurora East High School. 1938. p. 32.
^
"Radio Life" (PDF) . November 18, 1945. p. 2. Retrieved May 4, 2019 .
^ "Shirley Gordon". Something About the Author . 48 : 95–96 – via OCLC.
^ "Between the Commercials". Berkeley Daily Gazette . May 4, 1950. p. 24 – via NewspaperArchive.
^ Smith, Ronald L. (March 8, 2010).
Horror Stars on Radio: The Broadcast Histories of 29 Chilling Hollywood Voices . McFarland.
ISBN
978-0-7864-5729-8 .
^ Goldin, J. David (2019).
"Shirley Gordon" . radiogoldindex.com . Retrieved April 27, 2019 .
^ Ellett, Ryan (October 25, 2017). Radio drama and comedy writers, 1928–1962 . McFarland.
ISBN
978-1476665931 .
OCLC
976239218 .
^
"Shirley Gordon" . IMDb. Retrieved May 11, 2019 .
^
" 'Whistler' Writer to Speak at School" . The Signal . May 2, 1986. p. 2. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
^ Gordon, Shirley; Graham, Margaret Bloy (1970). The green hornet lunchbox . Boston: Houghton Mifflin.
OCLC
102290 .
^
The Green Hornet Lunchbox by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Gordon, Shirley (1978). Grandma zoo . Darrow, Whitney, 1909–1999. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
006022049X .
OCLC
3844217 .
^
Grandma Zoo by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Chatfield, Carol; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (January 1979).
"Reviews" . School Library Journal . 25 (5): 42 – via EBSCOhost.
^ Gordon, Shirley (1980).
The boy who wanted a family . Robinson, Charles, 1931– (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
0060220511 .
OCLC
5499030 .
^
The Boy Who Wanted a Family by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Ritter, Karen; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (April 1980).
"Reviews" . School Library Journal . 26 (8): 93 – via EBSCOhost.
^
"For Young Readers" . Santa Cruz Sentinel . May 11, 1980. p. 26. Retrieved August 11, 2020 .
^ Gordon, Shirley (1980). Me and the bad guys . Frascino, Edward. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
006022116X .
OCLC
6249673 .
^
Me and the Bad Guys by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Bearden, Joseph (January 1981).
"Reviews" . School Library Journal . 27 (5): 60 – via EBSCOhost.
^ Gordon, Shirley (1976).
Crystal is the new girl . Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
0060220244 .
OCLC
2078042 .
^
Crystal Is the New Girl by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Gordon, Shirley (1978).
Crystal is my friend . Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
0060221127 .
OCLC
3311735 .
^
Crystal Is My Friend by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Klingberg, Delores R.; Gerhardt, Lillian N. (March 1978).
"Reviews" . School Library Journal . 24 : 118 – via EBSCOhost.
^ Gordon, Shirley (1981). Happy birthday, Crystal . Frascino, Edward. (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
0060220066 .
OCLC
7275835 .
^
Happy Birthday, Crystal by Shirley Gordon | Kirkus Reviews .
^ Stebbins, Pamela Warren (February 1982).
"Happy Birthday, Crystal" . School Library Journal . 28 (6): 67 – via EBSCOhost.
^ Gordon, Shirley (1989).
Crystal's Christmas carol . Frascino, Edward (1st ed.). New York: Harper & Row.
ISBN
0060221275 .
OCLC
17297398 .
^ Hepler, Susan (October 1989).
"Crystal's Christmas Carol (Book)" . School Library Journal . 35 (14): 41 – via EBSCOhost.
^ KCETOnline (August 26, 2015),
Visiting with Huell Howser: Hollywood Ladies , retrieved April 27, 2019
^
"Library of Congress LCCN Permalink n79095489" . lccn.loc.gov . Retrieved April 19, 2019 .
External links